I picked up a male kitten who is now about 6 months old. It has been thriving well and seems content and happy. His name is Buffy. I've had Buffy for a month.

2 days ago, I agreed to take care of a very small kitten for the weekend. It must be 2-3 months old. It was in a horrible condition. Dehydrated, skin and bones, wouldn't eat, couldn't walk. I had to leave it at a clinic for those two days and I just went to bring it back home. It has made it. It's alive and kicking today and very hungry!
Anyway, we have decided to keep this one too. His name is Scruffy.
The vet said Scruffy has nothing contageous and that Buffy is not in danger of getting sick.

I've never had two cats before. Could anyone give me information or share their experience on how two male kittens usually behave in the same house? Buffy is keen on pouncing on Scruffy and makes a low threatening noise. So, I'm keeping them apart so far, but I won't be able to do so forever.

When Scruffy grows a little older, would it be okay to have them eat out of the same bowl or should they eat separately?
Should I keep two separate litter boxes? (so far I have two separate ones).
Do you think there's a chance that they won't be able to live together in the same house and thaty they'll get into cat fights?
Anything else I should know?

First off...Congratulations on the new kitten Bless you for being Scruffy's angels.

Half of my tribe are males, and to be totally honest. The males get along FAR better than the females do. I will often find all of them sleeping in a pile, while all the girls have their preferred spots.

All very good questions....I doubt that Buffy really has any plans to hurt Scruffy. It's just one male cat setting the ground rules to another..."if you're gonna live in my house, there are some rules....."

Eating from the same bowl is fine, IF they will do it, and it has to be up to them. As for littler boxes, only time will tell. There are 8 cats here, but only 6 litter boxes. Over time, I would remove the one that they didn't or barely used. But it took a couple years to make that determination. Sometimes they would use the odd boxes because I had just cleaned them. Sooo, I started cleaning the little used boxes last, while they were busy with their freshly cleaned favorites. After a while it was obvious that they didn't care for the other two, and I took them up.

Again, congratulations on the new furkid, I'm sure that he and Buffy will be acting like brothers in no time.

Oh, and there may be fights, but it could also be rough playing. Sometimes Trace and Mischief with fight and scream and anyone listening would be sure that this house isn't big enough for both of them...but then they will stop in mid-wrestle to clean each others ears. My boys are clowns....

Congrats on the new baby....and kudos to you for taking care of him so well.

All good advice from Mike.....

Slowly introducing them over the next week or so should ensure a successful integration. Introducing 2 young kittens is typically very easy and successful.

With 2 young guys it will be very physical, be prepared for lots of running and chasing. But you should really enjoy watching them. Kittens having fun like that are a blast to watch.

You will definitely have some wrestling and tussling. You will quickly be able to distinguish between play noises and real fighting. One good indicator is when they're going at it...if one of them stands up...their tail will typically be straight up in the air (the "I'm happy" position).

Please make sure to get them neutered by 6 months old otherwise you'll likely be dealing with territorial spraying (and it's healthier for them and doing your part of kitty population control).

I also recommend that you read the sticky on why wet food is better than dry at the top of this forum. It will give you some really good advice on feding them.

Another congratulations!!
What Mike and doodle said. Just to add, I've always had male cats (don't know why, that's just who came along!) and they've all gotten along. It is recommended to have one litter box per cat but we've always done fine with one for two cats and I do give them each a food bowl but sometimes they like to share anyway.
Enjoy them!

All excellent advice above; just to reiterate they should be neutered. That's your best guarantee for them to get along in the same house. Buffy is ready now and Scruffy can wait a couple months until he's back to normal.

Hi all,
I tried posting back last night and find my post missing today. Must have done something wrong.

I'd like to thank all of you for responding. Am I glad this site was created!

So, I will have my 6month kitten (Buffy) neutered a.s.a.p. Was always against neutering animals, but then my cat, Whiskey, died of Cat's aids (the vet called it) 4 years ago from fighting in the streets, so, apart from trying to contribute to a controlled kitty population, I don't want neither of my kittens contracting anything from street cat fights.
Little Scruffy is getting stronger by the day and in the mood for a litttle play. I tried to have them in the same room, but Buffy is going crazy trying to get a piece of Scruffy non-stop and Scruffy is too small to defend himself. Scruffy fits into the palm of my hand. Buffy actually tries to sit on him, hugs him and pulls him down, lol. Looks funny and cute, but he's actually clawing the little kittie and biting into his neck. I try to cuddle them both in my arms, so that Buffy may get the idea that they're both part of my family. It's more of a human pshycology than a cat one, but, I guess when Scruffy gets bigger, they'll be able to interact.

I don't have two cats, and the same gender either of course, but from other people's experiences, I have some info...
In a book that I bought about cats (which is EXTREMELY helpful,) says that if you get cats, then it'll be better if they were different genders, because cats the same gender are more territorial than with the other gender. I supposed that's why Buffy (or whoever) keeps on pouncing on the other cat, or whatever. But they're probably playing. Anyway, I think it's helpful that they meet each other at a pretty young age, so then they could get used to each other when they're adults.
I would suggest you getting seperate food bowls, because I think that if one cat gets a disease or something, it might get in the food bowl and if they share food bowls, the other cat might get it. And I know you should get seperate litterboxes, since I heard a lot of people do that. I think they get into fights if they use the same litterbox; I'm not exactly sure.

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